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I sit up. “Are you okay?”
“Yes...just tired again. Need to sleep.”
He practically falls into the hollow beside me, his arm landing across my waist pinning me down, his face inches frommine. I’m so glad I peed behind a tree close to the spring, because it appears I’m stuck here like this until Phalon wakes up.
I make one last attempt to talk to him before he falls asleep. “Are you sure we’re safe from...your clan here in this tree hollow?”
“Yes. They rarely step foot on the ground. Only to feast, and that will always be other male species. Badligons will only feast on creatures as a last resort.”
My mouth drops open. I know Phalon is a cannibal, but I didn’t realise men were his staple diet. I thought they were a delicacy, like caviar. I’m so naive.
“Can I ask you something Phalon?”
His breathing is getting deeper, and it takes him longer to answer me. I watch him fight to open his eyes halfway and peer at me. “Yes.”
“When was the last time you ate...another man?”
His eyes open a little wider and his inky black stare unsettles me. Do I really want to know the answer?
“The last time I ate another male, was when I was with my clan. We feasted on the dead Vysarians who battled over land. We tried to stay hidden, but I’m not sure if we succeeded.”
“So, you didn’t kill them then?” Why is his answer so important to me? He almost killed me thinking I was a man. Am I trying to humanise him so that it doesn’t feel so wrong to be in his company?
“No. I didn’t... Notthem.”
I sigh and close my eyes, satisfied I’m not lying with a recent murderer.
Phalon
As soon as I finish eating the second forest creature, exhaustion overcomes me, sending me into a groggy glutenous haze. My body is telling me to rest, and I can barely move one foot in front of the other as I make my way back to the tree hollow.
When I get there, Felicity is also back, lying inside and the tree hollow. She is captivating, and I can’t wait to climb in and lie alongside her. I really want to talk to her, to learn more about her kind and the planet where she came from. I try my hardest to stay alert, but I’m waning.
Felicity notices me standing beside the tree hollow watching her and she sits up. “Are you okay?”
It feels as though a weight has just dropped onto my shoulders. “Yes...just tired again. Need to sleep.” I barely have the strength to get the words out before I’m overcome with the need to climb into the hollow.
I try to climb in carefully as the small female is more fragile than I am, but as soon as I get my legs over the edge, I drop onto my side, my body touches hers and my arm lays across her protectively, pulling her down beside me. My eyelids fall, and sleep instantly begins to claim me.
Her breath blows on my face as she exhales and it feels like a gentle and comforting breeze. I can feel her heart rate resonating through her body. It’s quick which surprises me, and I begin to doubt if she actually wants to be here with me. But when she asks me a question, I realise it’s not me she fears, but my clan.
“Are you sure we’re safe from...your clan here in this tree hollow?”
I fight to lift my eyelids and look at her. They weigh as heavy as boulders. “Yes. They rarely step foot on the ground. Only to feast, and that will always be other male species. Badligons will only feast on creatures as a last resort.”
Felicity is quiet for a long time and my eyes begin to close again. I’m content lying next to her.
“Can I ask you something Phalon?”
Sleep is almost upon me, and I dig deep to open my eyes and look at Felicity. There’s something bothering her. I can tell by the tone of her voice, even though I barely know her, but I want to answer her as I fight against the sleep almost claiming me. “Yes.”
“When was the last time you ate...another man?”
By man she means male. Her question is enough to stop me sinking any further into sleep yet and my stomach clenches. I need to answer truthfully. If I don’t, all the trust I’ve gained over these last few hours will have been for nothing. “The last time I ate another male, was when I was with my clan. We feasted on the dead Vysarians who battled over land. We tried to stay hidden, but I’m not sure if we succeeded.”
A flash of hope flickers behind her eyes. “So, you didn’t kill them then?”
Why is my answer so important to her? Doesn’t she realise this is what Badligons do? They eat other male species, especially if they are Federation officers, our enemy for the past decade. It hasn’t always been this way. I remember when my body hadn’t quite matured, we didn’t eat other males then, only creatures, like the ones from the forest. Should I tell her? Would she see me as weak if she knew? She is a human. Her species have different traditions and expectations to mine. I don’t want to upset her. I need to answer cautiously, but truthfully.
